Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia, tic douloureux, prosopalgia, or Fothergill's disease, is very painful swelling (inflammation) of the trigeminal nerve (fifth crainial nerve) that delivers feeling to the face and "surface" of the eye.

Trigeminal neuralgia usually causes severe, facial pain that lasts for only a few seconds on the side of the affected trigeminal nerve; however, in some cases the pain can last for minutes to hours and even become constant.

This pain may be felt in the ear, eye, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, cheeks, teeth, or jaw, and some people also experience pain in their left index finger. Trigeminal neuralgia may be triggered by common activities such as eating, talking, shaving, brushing teeth, high pitched sounds, loud noises, or even air currents flowing across the face; but, in many people the pain is generated spontaneously without any apparent stimulation.

Causes of Trigeminal Neuralgia

Current research indicates that trigeminal neuralgia is caused when an enlarged blood vessel, often the superior cerebellar artery, throbs or continuously pushes against the microvasculature of the trigeminal nerve near its connection with the pons. Such pressure can injure the nerve's protective myelin sheath and cause erratic and hyperactive functioning of the trigeminal nerve as well as render the trigeminal nerve unable to shut off pain signals even after the pain stimulus ends, thus resulting in trigeminal neuralgia. This type of compression can be caused by aneurysm, multiple sclerosis, cerebellopontine angle tumor, posterior fossa tumor, or any other expanding lesion or even brainstem diseases from strokes.

Trigeminal neuralgia may affect anyone at any age, but it usually affects older adults.

If you feel you are having signs of trigeminal neuralgia, then contact your healthcare provider, or see a Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Neurology, or Neurosurgery specialist.